


Crime and Punishment

by SelfTitledWorldWonder



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Steve deserves happiness, awkward!Steve Harrington, short and fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 10:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13234128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelfTitledWorldWonder/pseuds/SelfTitledWorldWonder
Summary: Post Season 2, barely any spoilers.  You're a bit of a bookworm and one day when you're in the library Steve Harrington attempts to engage you in a conversation about a book he's clearly never read, because he's crushing on you and all other attempts of striking up conversation have flown right over your oblivious head.  Fluffy and short.  Features awkward!Steve (you're welcome).





	1. Part 1

“So…”

You raise one eyebrow, looking over at Steve Harrington, who had just sat himself down in the vacant chair next to yours.  “So…?”

While mostly confused by his presence - you weren’t really friends, more friendly acquaintances - you were also a little annoyed.  Some days you just weren’t in the mood to socialise, so you’d hang out in the library during lunch, often reading and rarely doing any work.  Your friends were used to this by now and simply didn’t question it on the days you didn’t turn up in the cafeteria. 

“What’re you reading?”  Steve seemed as confused as you when he spoke - clearly, he hadn’t known what he was going to say until he’d already said it.  You smile a little, amused, and flip your book closed so that he can see the title on the front, keeping one finger in to hold your page.

He squints and leans a little closer to you to read it, though you know full well there’s nothing wrong with his eyesight.

" _Crime and Punishment_.  I’ve read that!"  He grins at you and, though you highly doubt it given what you know about him, you play along because he has a nice smile and he’s honestly not that bad a person.

“Oh, yeah?  I wouldn’t have taken you as a big reader, Harrington."  You smile and just know that both of you are thinking back to that project you did together a couple of months ago.  The work was hard but, _goddamn_ , forcing Steve to focus and read more than two lines of text at a time should be an Olympic-level sport.

Bringing his hand up to cup the back of his neck, he smiles, looking a little bashful.  "Yeah, well…  When it’s something I’m interested in…”  He shrugs, and you still only half believe him, but his ridiculously floppy hair and awkward manner (so different to the Steve who used to hang out with Tommy and Carol) are endearing so instead of calling him out, you smile, folding over the corner of your page and putting your book down on the table.

"How did you find it?"  He looks a little confused, and it’s only then that you realise he’d been grinning widely at the closed book, obviously taking it as some big achievement that you’d shifted your attention to him.  “The book, I mean.  Did you think it was any good?I’m not too far in so no spoilers, okay?”  You poke him in the arm and try to give him your best intimidating look.

“Oh, well, I mean…  It was pretty good.  I don’t wanna say too much, y’know, if you haven’t read that much.”

Nodding your head, you raise your eyebrows, trying not to laugh at how entirely unconvincing he is.

You talk a little more, veering away from _Crime and Punishment_ to the topic of books in general, and you’re pleasantly surprised by how insightful he can be when he’s actually read the book in question.  You’d known he was smart (you got an B+ on your partnered project), but it was nice to see it in a context where you didn’t want to smack him over the head with a textbook because he wouldn’t concentrate.

The bell rings not long after and you head your respective ways, Steve nearly walking into the library’s doorframe because he was so focused on your in-depth description of _The Great Gatsby_ , a book he openly admitted to never reading.

You still have a small smile on your face when Jonathan sits next to you in Biology and vaguely shrug off his questions when he asks what has you so happy, because you’re not quite sure you understand that yourself yet.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has now gone on a search for the book Crime and Punishment so he can read it to impress you.  He also looks back at the time he started to have feelings for you.

The minute school lets out that same day Steve Harrington makes his way straight back to the library.  He scans through all the fiction books, vaguely remembering that the author’s last name began with a ‘D’, but soon becomes frustrated when he can’t find the book he wants.  After grasping the attention of the librarian, he asks if the library holds a copy of _Crime and Punishment._

“Oh, no, dear, I’m sorry.”  She shakes her head, watching the boy’s shoulders drop in defeat.  “We don’t have any Dostoevsky - it’s a shame.”

Sighing, Steve thanks her and leaves, quickly reaching his car.  He spends the drive home with a focused frown on his face, trying to come up with a way to find a copy of the book.  He’d known it was a dumb idea the second he’d told you he’d read it - he’d never even heard of the damn thing, much less read it - but he couldn’t seem to help himself when it came to you.  He just really wanted to impress you.  And none of his other attempts seemed to work.

He’d always thought you were pretty.  Beautiful, even.  And when you got paired up for that assignment in History he felt like the world was paying him back for all the shit it’d dumped on him in the last two years.  And suddenly his fleeting thoughts of how attractive you looked in that purple sweater or how nice your hair looked when it was curled became distant memories, because you were no longer just the pretty girl from History, you were Y/N Y/L/N; gorgeous, funny, smart, witty and completely in the dark about his feelings for you.

So now when he saw you in the purple sweater, it took everything in him not to stare, and when you curled your hair he’d often sit on his hands for fear that they’d reach out to find out if it was as soft as he thought it was.

Steve was pretty certain you were oblivious to his pining (not that he’d ever admit to anybody _ever_ that what he was doing was pining); he’d spent the best part of you working together on the project flirting with you and you never really seemed to notice.  On the bright side his constant chatter meant you would often sit close to him so that, whenever you deemed he wasn’t concentrating as much as he should be, you could reach over and show him what he was supposed to be doing.  This proximity meant he had your scent ingrained into his brain - both your perfume and the smell of your hair - and it could often be the reason he was so distracted in the first place.

He turns left onto a familiar winding road and is suddenly hit with inspiration.

_Nancy!_

She probably had the book - she had a bunch of them piled on top of the shelves in her room.  Maybe this way he didn’t have to try to read an entire novel in one night - she could just tell him what happens, give him her thoughts about it.  And then tomorrow he could impress you with his knowledge _and_ get a full nights’ sleep tonight.

He quickly turns his car around and heads to the Wheeler household, pleading with any deity he can think of that she’ll be able to help him.

Nancy is certainly confused when he asks about a book, and a little concerned by just how desperate he looks, but lets him inside with a nod.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got a copy - I never got round to reading it though, why?”

New plan officially thrown out of the window, Steve mentally prepares himself for an all-nighter.

“Oh, I just…  Thought I’d give it a shot?”  One glance at Nancy’s face confirms that he wasn’t being very convincing at all.

“Look, I…”  Awkwardly shifting from one foot to another he explains to he that he _may_ be doing it to impress a girl.  Nancy tries to hide her relief, but he still sees it in her eyes.  She’d been worried about him - he took their break up hard, and she knew that she was to blame for that, so she was just _really_ glad he was finally moving on.

After some interrogation - during which he refused to give up your name -  Steve sets off home, hardback book in hand and coffee in mind.

It was going to be a long night.  But you were worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do take requests, for both headcanons and imagines/oneshots over on my tumblr (daryldamnson), but it's fine if anyone wants to send them in here too.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Steve have lunch together. Lightly flirtatious teasing ensues.

The next morning you saw Steve in passing in the hallway.  You had to do a double-take; he looked like _shit_.  He didn’t even seem to notice you, he was too deep in thought, so you left him to it.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that you saw him again.  You were sat with your friends in the cafeteria when he came in looking a little worse for wear, eyes searching the room and stopping on you.  You give him a small smile, which he returns tenfold, striding over to your table.

Your eyes widen a little in shock – what the hell was he doing?

You hear your friend squeal quietly as she elbows you gently in the stomach, alerting everyone at the table to the approaching boy.

“What the hell is _Steve Harrington_ doing walking towards _us?_ ”

While he may no longer be ‘King Steve: The It Guy of the School’, Steve was still pretty popular, and while your friend group weren’t _un_ popular, it was definitely weird for him to just walk over and engage you in conversation.  Which is exactly what he did.

Leaning his hip casually against the table, he nods in greeting at everyone else before turning his attention to you.  “Hey, Y/N…  So, I thought maybe we could sit together?  Today?  For lunch?”  Whilst he started off sounding confident, you had to refrain a giggle as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

You could hear your friends exchanging quiet squeals of excitement and confused questions behind you, and Steve shot them a quick smile and wink as he seemed to gain some of his confidence back.

Smiling slightly as Steve turned back to you, you pick your bag up from the floor, throwing your friends a quick “see you later, guys” as you stand you follow Steve to a table in a quieter corner of the cafeteria.

A smoother person would’ve played it a little more hard-to-get, but, hell, how often did this kind of thing happen?  Never before to you.  You’d had boyfriends, obviously, and other guys who had been interested, but _Steve Harrington_ actually putting in the effort to make conversation with you?  Sit with you?  You weren’t gonna say no to that.

You’d figured that yesterday was a fluke – you’d simply caught his eye in the library because he was bored or alone, but now?  Now he seemed…  Genuinely interested.  Your heart fluttered at the thought.

“So…”  You started, mocking him from yesterday as you sat down across from him.  “You look like shit,” honesty is the best policy, right?  “What’s up with you?”

Steve shrugs, muttering something about not sleeping enough.  He certainly wasn’t going to admit to you that he hadn’t slept because he was so busy reading Nancy’s copy of _Crime and Punishment_ , just like he wasn’t going to admit that he’d searched all around the library for you before coming to find you in the cafeteria.

You can tell he isn’t letting you in on the whole story, but you’re not one to pry so you let it be.

“Well,” you started, throwing a smile in his direction.  “Exhaustion looks good on you, Harrington.” You watch as his eyes light up at your compliment as he smiles widely.  It was cute (not a word you’d ever thought you’d associate with King Steve but here you are) .

“Thanks!  It, uh…  I bet it’d look just as good…  On you…”  He trailed off at the end, his face cringing in embarrassment.

This time you couldn’t hold it back; you burst into laughter, drawing a little attention from some of the tables around you, even more so when Steve joined in, resting his head in his hand in shame.

“Sorry, I -” you cut yourself off with a giggle, unable to help yourself.

“No, I’m sorry - I swear, I _swear_ I’m usually so much smoother than that.”

At this your heart skips a beat and you look over at him, biting your lip to quell your smile.  “Oh, yeah?  Is that…  What you’re trying to be?  _Smooth?”_

You can’t help but tease him as you lean forward over the table, causing him to mimic your actions. “Because guess what?”  You lower your voice, looking around as if you were trying to keep something a secret.  “You’re not doing a very good job,” you whisper.

You start to giggle and he’s quick to join you with a deep chuckle at his own expense. It’s only when you look up at him that you notice that neither of you have pulled away, leaving you so close that you can see every small detail of his face.  Including the fact that his eyes flicker down to glance at your lips.

Instinctively you dart your tongue out to lick your lips, which only serves to attract Steve’s attention to them once more.

Just as you see Steve begin to move towards you, the cafeteria doors bang open and a group of loud students walk in, the loud noise making you and Steve jump away from each other.  You look down, coughing awkwardly as Steve rubs the back of his neck in a way that you are quickly learning means he’s nervous.  _Cute._

You glance up at him at the same time he does and you both smile, a little embarrassed.  

“So…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do take requests, for both headcanons and imagines/oneshots over on my tumblr (daryldamnson), but it's fine if anyone wants to send them in here too.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Steve are still having lunch together. Lightly flirtatious teasing continues. Also, you find out that Steve only read the book the night before.

You’d gotten over the awkward almost-kiss - was that what it was? - fairly quickly and were laughing once more.  This time at Steve’s pronunciation of Raskolnikov; the main character in _Crime and Punishment_.

You had to admit you were quite shocked when he decided to broach the topic again after his clear lack of knowledge yesterday, but he seemed to know exactly what he was talking about today.  Maybe yesterday you just hadn’t given him a chance to show how well he knew the book?

It didn’t matter, because he may know the book, but he certainly didn’t know how to pronounce any of the characters’ names, which was quite the source of humour for you.  He also admits that he can’t really differentiate between the characters’ names - “Especially the main guy and his best friend, I mean, _come on_ , they both start with ‘R’, was that really necessary?”.  You find yourself giggling more at his exasperated expression than anything else.  _Cute._

There’s that damn word again.

“Okay, okay, I want you to tell me one thing, okay?”

You’re fairly certain you hear him mumble “anything” but when he just looks at you expectantly you brush it off - it is a crowded cafeteria, after all.

“Does he get away with it?  Murdering the pawnbroker?”

You watch as he thinks it over, wondering why he needs to do that.

“Kind of.”

‘Kind of’?  What the fuck sort of answer is ‘ _kind of’?_

“What the hell does that mean?”

He chuckles slightly at your reaction.  “It means…  Kind of.  I can’t say much more unless you want major spoilers.”

Steve watches you as you contemplate, his eyes light and his smile gentle.

“Give me major spoilers.”  You knew straight away that that was going to be your choice - you’d always loved spoilers.

“He gets away with it.”  Your eyes widen in shock and you bite your lip in expectation, knowing that there must be more coming.  “But then…”

“ _Steve!”_ You urge him on when he pauses for dramatic effect.

“Okay, okay!  He _does_ get away with it, but then the guilt eats up at him and he ends us confessing to the police after his girlfriend convinces him to.”

“No!  Oh my god, that’s -” You suddenly process something he said.  “Wait - girlfriend?  When does he get a girlfriend?”

Steve lets out a small ‘oops’, obviously not having meant to slip on that.

“Okay, okay, stop talking!”  You wave your hands in front of you slightly as if that will stop anymore words coming out of his mouth.  “I don’t wanna know any more!”

You drop your hands back onto the table, realising a second too late that Steve had shifted in his seat and moved his hands, causing your fingers to touch.

There’s a moment of silence as you both smile, a little embarrassed, but it’s broken by the shrill sound of the end of lunch bell.  You pull your hand away slowly, glancing over your shoulder to see your friends stood waiting a few tables down, not so inconspicuously staring and giggling.

“I, um…  I should probably go.”  You nod your head in their direction and his smile drops slightly but he nods.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll…”  He hesitates, drumming his fingers on the table and you just _know_ it’s to stop himself rubbing the back of his neck in that adorable nervous way.  _So cute_.  “…see you later?”

“Yeah, I…  I hope so,” you agree, in what you hope is a smooth manner, as you stand and head over to your friends.  You glance back once to find him staring, before he notices you and snaps back to reality, averting his gaze.

_Definitely cute._

* * *

 

Later that day you bump into Nancy Wheeler, who pulls you into conversation, which you suppose isn’t _that_ weird, considering you vaguely know her through Jonathan, but you certainly wouldn’t call it an everyday occurrence.

“Hey, Y/N, I saw you talking to Steve at lunch - is he reading the book already?”

“I’m sorry?”

You frown at her, confused.

“ _Crime and Punishment_ ,” she explains.  “He borrowed the book off me last night?”  Her voice trails off into a question as you stare at her in bewilderment.

“Steve only read the book last night?”

At your clearly shocked expression, Nancy realises she’s fucked up, and hopes that it won’t affect Steve’s chances with you.

“Oh, shit, did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

“No, no,” you answer quickly, shaking your head, a small, confused frown marring your forehead.  “Listen, um, I’ve gotta go, I-I’ll see you around.”  You rush off, one thought buzzing through your mind.

_Steve Harrington read a whole novel in one night, just to have a conversation with me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do take requests, for both headcanons and imagines/oneshots over on my tumblr (daryldamnson), but it's fine if anyone wants to send them in here too.


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve confesses he only read the book for you and, appropriately, you swoon.  A kiss occurs.

“Steve.  I fucked up.”

Panic instinctively sets in, as it should after the shit he’d gotten into with Nancy before – full-grown demogorgans, lesser-grown-but-still-scary-as-shit demodogs, corrupt government facilities and a girl who could move things with her mind.

But then he realises that if any of those were making a reappearance (barring El because now he’d met her and they got on famously), then Nancy would’ve probably turned up at his door and told him to dig out his bat rather than just give him a warning over the phone.

It’s then that it hits him.  Nancy knows about the book.  Nancy knows it was for a girl.  And Nancy’s a nosy little meddler, no matter how much she denies it.

“Nancy…”

“It’s Y/N, isn’t it?”

“I – what are you even – I don’t –” Steve sighs, knowing he’s already given himself away, “yes.”

To her credit, Nancy doesn’t squeal like he’d expected, but it’s only then that he realises what she’d originally said.  She hadn’t just found out about Y/N…  She’d done something.

“Nancy…  What have you done?”

* * *

“You only read Crime and Punishment last night?”

It’s been two hours since his conversation with Nancy, and he’d been thinking over and over how he was going to play it with you tomorrow at school.  He could try suave and cool – but he’d never managed to keep that up around you before.  Denial was always a possibility – denial that he’d only just read the book, denial that he’d done it for you, denial of his feelings for you?  No, because then, if by some miracle, you were interested in him, you wouldn’t act on it.  So…  Honesty?  Just coming straight out with it was a terrifying thought – there was so much that could go wrong – but at least he’d be laying all his cards out on the table, and he’d finally get his answer.

In the end, the decision was taken away from him, because you’d shown up at his front door; cheeks pink from the early evening cold and brow furrowed as you questioned – or possibly accused – him.  And of course, instinct kicked in and denial won out.

“What?  I…  No – I-I mean…”  Steve lets out a defeated sigh, shoulders slumping as he looks at you bashfully.  “Yes.”

Even though you’d believed Nancy, his confession still surprised you – enough that you accidentally ratted her out.

_Oops._

“Nancy told me you borrowed her copy last night.”

“I did.”

“That’s why you’re so tired.”

“Yes.”

“You read a whole novel…  In one night.”

“Yes.”

His few-worded answers were honest, but certainly didn’t give enough information for your liking.

“ _Why?_ ”

“Because…  Well, because…  I did it to impress you, okay?”  You were still stood at his front door, having given him no time to invite you in before starting your interrogation, and he shifted awkwardly on his feet as he glanced at your face for your reaction.  “Stop looking at me like that.”  In significantly more shock than you were earlier, and completely smitten over what he’d just admitted, you found yourself looking at him with the softest of expressions on your face.  “Like I’m some lost little puppy.”  Which he clearly must have mistaken for pity.

_What an idiot…_

“I’m not looking at you like you’re a lost puppy, idiot, I’m looking at you…  Like that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

“…Really?”

You can’t help but laugh at the shock in his voice, and how wide his eyes have gotten.

“Yes, really.”

He looks decidedly more pleased with himself, and you both stand there grinning at each other like absolute fools for the better half of a minute before his face suddenly drops – scaring the crap out of you.

“I never invited you in!  I’m such a douchebag, you must be freezing!”  He jumps into action; bustling you through the door and into the living room before yanking the blanket off the back of his sofa and wrapping it around your shoulders.  “Are you okay – do you need another blanket?  Because I can get you anoth-”

“Steve…”  Your voice is soft, and full of unspoken affection, but it pauses him and he looks down at you as you place your hand on his chest.

Making your intentions clear by glancing down from his eyes to his lips, and back again, you slowly rise up on your toes, tilting your head ever so slightly to the right.  You don’t get very far before Steve’s lips come down to meet yours, one of his hands coming to rest gently at the back of your head while the other lands on your hip.

The kiss is fairly short, but sweet, and you both grin as you separate slightly, and you find you’re unable to resist dropping another peck on his lips before pulling away properly.

“I’ll take that other blanket now.  I’m fucking _freezing_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of C+P! Thanks for reading - leave a comment if you're in a generous mood.
> 
> I do take requests, for both headcanons and imagines/oneshots over on my tumblr (daryldamnson), but it's fine if anyone wants to send them in here too.

**Author's Note:**

> I do take requests, for both headcanons and imagines/oneshots over on my tumblr (daryldamnson), but it's fine if anyone wants to send them in here too.


End file.
